Sweet Sixteen
by Neoshipper
Summary: **SPACING FIXED!!** Full Moon wo Sagashite - Remember that 16 year old hill thing? Yea. Mitsuki survives surgery and goes back there.


AN: Okay, this is my first Full Moon wo Sagashite fic. This was very spur of the moment, and it contains spoilers up to episode 26 (that's all I've been able to get fan-subbed as of yet ^-^) In episode 5 (or maybe it was 6) Mitsuki (as Full Moon) was on the "16-year-old-hill" where, if you're there when you turn 16 you'll get a boyfriend, or so the myth says ::grins coyly::  
  
This is gonna take place kinda in its' own time frame, (meaning I don't know what really happens at the end, so I'm making this up). Mitsuki gets the operation as part of her promise to Wakouji-sensei (when he becomes her manager), but loses most of her voice, preventing her from singing. On her sixteenth birthday she goes to the hill and she's in for a surprise ^-~  
  
Disclaimer: I can only wish that Full Moon wo Sagashite (as well as KKJ ^- ^) belonged to me, because Tanemura Arina's art is some of the best out there! ^-^  
  
NOTE: As you can tell, my fetish of the moment is both Full Moon wo Sagashite and Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (thus 3 stories are up ^-^ thankfully only one needs to be continued). This is a nice waffy (fluffy, sappy, fuzzy, whatever you wanna call it) short story. (Well, 8 pages)  
  
~*^-^*~  
  
How long had it been now? Four years? Mitsuki stared at the lighted candles on her cake. Extravagant amounts of pink frilly icing crawled over white. The 'Happy Sweet 16 Mitsuki' had smudged, and the letters looked more like a scribble. Wax dripped down the blue and pink candles, threatening to drip on the cake. 

"Mitsuki-san, blow out your candles before they ruin the cake." Mitsuki's grandmother scolded her granddaughter. Mitsuki smiled slightly and blew out the candles in one breath. Sixteen and one for good luck. Even after all these years, her grandmother still scolded her and forbid music. Not that it mattered anymore. Mitsuki raised a hand to her throat and closed her eyes. 

"Mitsuki-chan?" 

Wakouji-sensei placed a hand on her shoulder. Mitsuki quickly looked up and smiled. 

"I'm fine." Her voice was soft, a permanent whisper. The surgery had taken away one of the only things she loved to do. Sing. She stood abruptly and bowed. 

"If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go for a walk." Her voice sounded foreign. Not her own. She was aware of everyone leaning forward to strain to hear her, and it constantly reminded her of her tremendous loss. 

"Mitsuki-san!" Her grandmother called out to her, but she was already outside and walking. She had just gotten past the lawn when Wakouji-sensei and Ooshige-san ran out after her. A couple of months ago they had gotten together, much to Mitsuki's delight. "Mitsuki-chan!" Ooshige-san stopped the young girl. Mitsuki looked at her, a smile in place as if everything was great. Wakouji-sensei frowned, keeping his distance. He could see pain and loneliness behind her eyes. She missed her shinigami. Especially the one named Takuto. Sometimes when she was asleep, he would hear her breathy cry for him, a soft whimper that pulled at his heart. Maybe the operation hadn't been for the best. No! What was he thinking? He shook his head and walked over to the two conversing girls. 

"Ne, Wakouji-sensei, would you come with me and Ooshige-san?" She smiled, an expression with a hint of sadness, not easily noticeable. He nodded.

"Sure, Mitsuki-chan, where are we going?" 

"I just need you to drop me off somewhere." 

"Somewhere?" Wakouji-sensei frowned but said nothing. He looked at her face, drawn carefully blank, and had a hard time saying no. She looked remarkably like Full Moon, which was to be expected. The only difference was she let her hair stay brown, and the light was gone from her eyes. Finally, he nodded.

"All right." 

He ushered Ooshige-san and Mitsuki to his car. Ooshige- san chattered happily along the way, but Mitsuki did no more than give directions.  
  
"Here?" 

Wakouji-sensei pulled up next to a large lake surrounded by trees. Mitsuki nodded and stepped out of the car. She breathed in deep and sighed. The last time she had been here was when she was Full Moon. There had been a photo shoot, and equipment was everywhere. Takuto and Meroko had also been there. 

"I'll call you when I need a ride home. I might be here for a while though. Ja ne." She smiled and walked towards a path in the woods. 

"It's just like last time...I remember!" Ooshige-san watched Mitsuki leave. Wakouji-sensei turned to her with a questioning gaze. 

"When she first started out, we came here for a photo shoot. She had been upset, and went on that path for a walk. When she came back, she said she had went to the sixteen year old hill." 

"Sixteen year old hill?"

"Yea. She said that if you went there on your sixteenth birthday, you'd get a boyfriend. Crazy, ne?" 

"Maybe not.." Wakouji-sensei watched Mitsuki disappear from view. Silently, he prayed. Prayed for someone to come and save Mitsuki.  
  
~*^-^*~  
  
Mitsuki walked silently down the worn dirt path. Her eyes scanned the area, taking in everything that had changed. Shrubs had been planted along the path, small buds blooming on them. Not much else had changed. Except Takuto and Meroko had been here with her. Now alone, she let her bottom lip tremble slightly. She stopped, head bowed. A rustle in the bushes to her side made her look. "Takuto?" Her voice was quiet, but it carried in the silence of the evening. Her eyes lit up, hope filled. A rabbit peeked out from under the bushes, its' nose twitching. Mitsuki sighed and began to walk again until she came to the bottom of the hill. 

She hesitated before taking her first step, and she half expected something magical to tangle her hair or fill her body. Nothing happened as she continued her walk up the hill. It was just as she remembered it: Empty except for the log in the middle at the top. A few weeds and flowers sprouted here and there, but other than that it looked like a normal hill. The grass was taller now, brushing against her calves as she walked.

"The sixteen year old hill.." Mitsuki sat on the log, smoothing her hands along the rough bark. She closed her eyes and visualized what had happened four years ago. She thought back to the three girls who had heard her singing and who had told her about the hill. Gradually, her thoughts drifted to those of her shinigami. Visions of Takuto and Meroko filled her mind, until gradually they faded and only memories of Takuto remained. The time he had saved her from falling off a building and sworn to protect her. The time he encouraged her not to care what other people thought of her looks and gave her wings. The time on the yacht when they almost kissed. The time they did kiss. Mitsuki shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Her eyes misted with tears. She missed them. Even though Takuto and Meroko had come to her promising death, she missed them. They were her first friends. Takuto was her first kiss. She slipped her hand in her pocket and fingered the small whistle Takuto had given her. It had not disappeared with him, and it followed her wherever she went. The cool metal caressed her palm, a comforting coolness that she found herself drawn to again and again. She felt a tear at the corner of her eye and brushed it away. 

She opened her mouth and began to sing in her soft voice. Not really knowing why, she began to sing Takuto's version of her song when she had heard him on the beach.  
  
_"Doushite konna ni, suki nan darou toosugite, chikasugite, todokanai yo wasureyou tte omoeba omou hodo kimi ga, ookiku."  
  
"Natteku yo."  
_  
Mitsuki's breath caught in her throat. She forced herself to take three deep breaths before turning slowly around. Takuto stood behind her in the same outfit she had seen him last in four years ago. His hat was still on, the ties flapping in the wind, and a soft smile was on his face. Mitsuki opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. She knew she probably looked like a fish, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. "Ne, Mitsuki, it's been a while." His smile widened slightly and his eyes held a soft look that she only saw on a few occasions. 

"Takuto." 

Her voice wavered slightly as she stood. Her heart thumped loudly in her ears as she walked around the log and towards him. He didn't move as she hesitantly brushed her fingers across his cheek. He was real. 

"You're here. You're really here." Mitsuki let tears fall down her cheeks in tiny rivulets for the first time in four years. She didn't hesitate to throw her arms around Takuto and cry. He said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him. Her sobs were muffled by his shirt and jacket, but they rang clear in his ears. Somewhere along the way in death he had picked up a good sense of hearing. 

"You called to me." He muttered, his chin resting on the top of her head. Tearless and confused, Mitsuki pulled back and looked up at him. When she was twelve, she had to crane her head up to see his face. At sixteen she only had a little way to look. 

"What are you talking about?" She sniffled and pulled reluctantly from his arms. She held her hands to her chest, which were still shaking, giving her a sense of security away from his arms. 

"Your singing called out to me. So I came." He said it as if it explained everything. Mitsuki frowned, wiping at the dried tears on her cheeks. They felt sticky and she scrubbed harder. Takuto caught her hand. 

"You'll rub the skin raw, baka." He said, only half kidding. He let go of her wrist and she let it drop to her side. 

"How could you hear me? My voice is nearly gone." She raised a hand to her throat, suddenly self conscious about her voice. When she had first met Takuto, her voice was soft, but never this soft. Takuto smiled. 

"I heard every word, every note." 

He watched Mitsuki's eyes widen. She blushed and looked down.

"Ever since the surgery, I lost yo- most of my voice." She stumbled across the words, hoping they were too soft to hear. She had almost said "I lost you." The sly smile on Takuto's face told her he had heard. 

"I know. I saw." 

"You saw?" Mitsuki tried unsuccessfully to raise her voice. She winced. Talking too much or trying to strain her voice made her throat hurt. Wakouji-sensei had said that maybe if she had gotten the surgery earlier, her voice would have been okay. Mitsuki didn't regret anything that happened four years ago. She would do it all over again if she could. Even though her time had run short and she couldn't find Eichi-kun, she enjoyed singing. 

"I saw." Takuto nodded. Mitsuki cocked her head to one side. She didn't need to ask. 

"Even though you couldn't see me, Mitsuki, didn't mean I was not with you. I followed you when I could." He sat on the log behind them, and she sat next to him. She felt a blush rise in her face. Not knowing when he was watching her and what he saw unnerved her. Takuto chuckled, and Mitsuki closed her eyes, savoring the sound of his voice. 

"Don't worry, I didn't spy on you if that's what you're thinking." He smiled coyly. Her blush deepened another shade and she shook her head. 

"I don't get it. Why can I see you now? Where's Meroko? How long are you going to be here for?" 

"You can see me now because you called to me and you have some of my blood in you. Meroko is off with this new shinigami, and I'm here as long as you need me." Takuto lowered his voice to a husky whisper. Mitsuki's heart sped up again, and she swallowed. "What if I don't want you to leave me again?" Her eyes searched his desperately. She didn't think she could survive being left behind again. Her hand had gripped his arm tightly, her knuckles white. Takuto leaned closer, his mouth hovering just above hers. "Then I won't." He closed the distance slowly, his lips brushing hers in a chaste kiss. Mitsuki hesitated before pressing her lips to his and wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. Takuto took that as a sign to proceed, and deepened the kiss, tracing her lips with his tongue. Mitsuki inhaled sharply, but didn't pull back. She hesitated before opening her mouth. She let Takuto slide his tongue in and her small gasp turned into a soft moan. Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck. He shuddered under her touch. Slowly, Takuto pulled back, watching Mitsuki closely. 

Her eyes were half closed, as if she had just woken up. Her lips were red and swelling and her breathing was slightly uneven. Her cheeks had flushed to a faint pink. He smiled and licked his lips. 

"Can you, really..stay with me?" Mitsuki fought to get the words out, her head still spinning. Takuto nodded. 

"I can. I was given permission once they saw your state of condition." 

"My condition?" 

Mitsuki looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain. He nodded. 

"If you kept living like you were, you wouldn't last another year, Mitsuki." His face was serious. The same face he had made four years ago when he was scolding or thinking. Mitsuki fought the urge to cling to his arm to make sure he didn't leave.

"What was wrong with my life?" She began to get defensive. _'Besides you not being there.' _She added silently. Takuto shook his head and sighed.  
"Everything, Mitsuki. You aren't eating right and you don't sleep well. You walk around in a daze, and I've seen you leave the house in the cold with no jacket. I heard you call out to me during your sleep, and it killed me to know I couldn't do anything to help you. Mitsuki, you're wasting away slowly." He took both her hands in his and held them. Mitsuki blushed and looked up at him. 

"I'm sorry for making you worry." She mumbled and looked away. Takuto took her chin in his hands and turned her to look him in the face.

"Please, Mitsuki, don't do this to yourself. Even I'm not worth it." He tapped her under the chin before pulling away. Mitsuki nodded, still thinking about what he had said. "I won't have to if you stay with me." She smiled shyly, looking at her feet. Takuto grinned and nodded, looking off down the hill.

"Isn't this..Didn't we?" Takuto couldn't quite place it, but he knew they had been there before. Mitsuki nodded. 

"This is the sixteen year old hill." 

"Ahh, I remember now. It's your birthday?"

"Sixteenth." 

Mitsuki smiled and looked up at him. He smiled and ruffled her hair. She pulled back, a smile still on her face. 

"Happy Birthday." He leaned in and whispered in her ear. She shuddered as his breath hit her neck.

"Did you come here because of that myth?" Takuto watched her face carefully, looking for any signs of embarrassment or something else. She didn't blush, but nodded. "I did. I thought…I don't know what I thought." She shook her head, trying to think of exactly what to say. 

"Were you waiting for Eichi-kun?" There was a trace of hostility and bitterness in his voice as he said the name. Mitsuki shook her head. She didn't know exactly what she had expected to happen. 

"I certainly didn't expect Eichi-kun to show up, especially because I never got him to notice me." There was a hint of sadness in her voice. 

"I didn't expect to ever see you again, and I didn't expect some strange guy to come in and sweep me off my feet." Mitsuki giggled, shaking her head again. Why had she come here? 

"You were hoping." 

"Hoping? Hoping for what?" 

"As a shinigami, I could feel some of what you were feeling, especially since you have some of my blood in you. You were hoping for someone to show up, but you weren't counting on it." Takuto tried to explain what he had felt while away from her, but it was easier said than done. Mitsuki nodded thoughtfully. Then, she thought of something. "What will Meroko think? If you stay here, with me, I mean." She stumbled over the words and stared at her lap. She knew how much Meroko loved Takuto. Meroko had even said it. Takuto shook his head. 

"I told her how I felt. I don't feel anything for her. She's more of, a sister. She was upset at first, but then this new guy showed up and she's busy fawning over him." 

"Is she happy?" Mitsuki loved Takuto, but she didn't want to pull him away from Meroko. It felt wrong. Takuto sensed her uneasiness and nodded.

"He's returning her feelings. I think she's happy." 

"Good." 

They sat in silence, watching the sun sink below the tree level. Mitsuki sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. 

"So beautiful." 

"Ahh." 

Mitsuki placed a hand over her mouth and giggled. Takuto blinked, confused by her sudden laughter. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Do you remember the last time we did this? We said the same thing," She smiled up at him. Takuto took a second to think about it before smiling and nodding. 

"I guess we did. You remember that day?" 

"How could I forget? Not only did I almost die, but you gave me my first kiss and I heard you sing." Mitsuki smiled, more like herself than she had ever been since Takuto and Meroko left. 

"Now you acknowledge it as a first kiss?" He grinned. Mitsuki blushed and nodded. By now the sun had sunk past the trees and stars started to pepper the sky. Mitsuki stood and stretched. 

"We should get going. Wakouji-sensei and Ooshige-san are probably worried." Mitsuki turned and watched Takuto stand. He sensed her eyes on him and raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm not going to just disappear." 

"How can I be so sure?"

Mitsuki found his hand without her eyes leaving his face. He pulled her to him and held her, his cheek resting on top of her head. Mitsuki sighed, finally content. Reluctantly, she pulled back and pulled her cell phone out of her dress pocket. She took a few steps back so she could make the phone call. It rang twice before it was picked up. "Mitsuki-chan?"

"Hai. Sorry I didn't call you earlier. Can you come pick us up?" 

"Us?" Wakouji-sensei was both confused and worried, and he let his voice show that. 

"Mitsuki, are you feeling all right?" 

"I'm fine. Can you please just come now?" 

"We'll be there in a few minutes." They hung up and Mitsuki walked back to Takuto. He took her hand in his and they began walking down the hill.

By the time they had gotten off the hill and through the forest path, Wakouji-sensei's car was waiting. Mitsuki saw Wakouji-sensei and Ooshige- san blink. They both stepped out of the car slowly and faced her. 

"Mitsuki-chan? Who's this?" Wakouji-sensei pointed to Takuto. Mitsuki's eyes widened. 

"You can see him?" 

"Of course we can see him, Mitsuki. Who is he? And what is with that outfit?" Ooshige-san walked around him, eyeing his choice of clothes. Takuto looked like he wanted to say something, but Mitsuki elbowed him in the stomach. 

"This is Takuto." 

"Takuto? You don't mean..." 

Wakouji-sensei studied the man before him. He had asked Mitsuki once before what her shinigami looked like. Everything she told him was exactly as described, down to the cat faces on his gloves. He blinked and looked back at Mitsuki. 

"How? I mean, he left four years ago, didn't he? Back then we couldn't see him as anything other than a neko." 

"Takuto, why can they see you?" Mitsuki looked up at him, her fingers still laced through his. He smiled. 

"Because I told you I was going to stay with you, and I meant it." He grinned as her face lit up. Tears threatened to spill and she threw herself against him for the second time that night. 

"If you're that upset, I can go." He suggested, chuckling softly. Mitsuki shook her head wildly and held onto him tighter. 

"Don't you ever leave." She was well aware of the audience, but she didn't care. Takuto was back with her. Wakouji-sensei smiled and scratched his head. How were they ever going to explain this to Mitsuki's grandmother? Ooshige-san stood next to him now, arm wrapped around his waist. 

"Aren't they cute?" She gushed and squeezed him. Wakouji-sensei wheezed, but nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It looked like Mitsuki would be making a full recovery. 

As she talked with Takuto, he watched her smile and laugh. Her hands moved as she talked and her eyes sparkled with an alive-ness he hadn't seen in years. She was finally healing. From not seeing Eichi-kun, from her operation, and from loosing her shinigami. He found a shred of irony in the fact that Mitsuki loved someone who's first intention was to take her to her death.

He shook his head and walked around to the drivers' side of the car. Ooshige-san slid into the passengers' side and they waited for Takuto and Mitsuki. 

"You're really going to stay?" Mitsuki stared up at him, eyes wide and trusting. Takuto nodded and kissed her on the cheek. 

"As long as you want." 

"Forever then?" 

"Always." 

He took her hand and lead her to the car. Mitsuki gave his hand a quick squeeze before letting it go and opening the back door. Wakouji-sensei started the car and glanced into the mirror to see Mitsuki curled against Takutos' side, her eyes lidded with sleepiness. He smiled and began to short drive home. He knew now that that hill was not just some silly high school girl story. Yes, Mitsuki-chan was going to heal just nicely.  
  
~owari~  
  
~*^-^*~  
  
AN: I think that was the sappiest story I have ever written. Seriously. I mean, I write romance, drama, angst, and limes all the time, but this was definitely the sappiest and most in-depth story I've ever written. Waffiness! I tried to keep Takuto and Mitsuki as in character as I could, maybe only a few flaws.  
  
I love Meroko and all ::hugs Meroko usagi and Takuto neko plushies (yes, they're real and CUTE):: but I find Takuto and Mitsuki a more compatible couple for a couple reasons. One of them being they share the same interest in music. Another being Mitsuki's maturity. Anyway, that's not what author notes are for! Well, mebbe, but not mine! XD  
  
Read and Review Please!  
  
~*Neoshipper*~ 


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